Legend
by L's New Style
Summary: After Titan War II was a peaceful time for all, but paranoia still reined. So the Alliance was formed, a secret organization that served the purpose of hunting down and taking out any possible threats. But nothing lasts for long, chaos will always ensue again, and sometimes it's our heroes that are the enemies; sometimes you need an unlikely Alliance: you just have to tough it out.
1. Parallel Universe

**Legend**

**Chapter 1: Parallel Universe**

**Sabire Andrews**

* * *

My name is Sabire Andrews, the fifteen year old daughter of Persephone, the only daughter of Persephone, as far as I know. Hades basically hates my guts, so I've had a lot of monsters and shit to deal with. His son however, Nico di Angelo, is one of my best friends. I guess he understood how it was; my mom hated him and his dad hated me. Nico took me to Camp Half-Blood the year after Titan War II. I heard a lot of stories about 'the old days' from the campers who had been there longer. But none of them mentioned anything about the secrets and undercover organizations around the place.

Even though it was a peaceful time for demigods, there was still a lot of paranoia. That's why a secret group called the Alliance was formed. I discovered the existence of the Alliance when I stumbled into one of their meetings, literally. Basically, they decided I had heard far too much, and so, as a means of keeping me quiet, reluctantly let me in the Alliance.

It was founded a few months after Titan War II, so I was told, by Annabeth Chase, Clarisse la Rue, Will Solace, Jake Mason, and Katie Gardner. The object was to create an emergency task force of highly trained demigods (later, it opened to anyone who knew of the existence of the Greek world) that would secretly hunt down and eliminate any threats so a new war wouldn't start anytime soon. To be a member of the Alliance was to ally yourself into a group of people who'd do whatever it took to keep peace. You lived in a shroud of false pretenses and lies used to keep your real identity a secret.

There were full members and honorary members of the Alliance. The current honorary members were Thalia Grace and a few of her fellow hunters, Nico di Angelo, Grover Underwood, Aurora Crow and Etriuce Falke (who were known by the Alliance and the Alliance alone to be demitians, who refused to tell their parents' identities). The full members stood at numbers over twenty. It was a fairly large organization, broken into several divisions and guilds.

The guilds were basically groups of the members put together because of their specialities. A few examples are the archers, the spies, and the trackers.

The first division (the highest ranking) was the Founders. The second, the Assassins. The third, Task Force. The fourth, the Scouts. And finally, the fifth (the lowest ranking), the Trainees who got dubbed the Newbies, as I quickly learned. A lot of people didn't even bother to learn my name at first, just called me 'the newbie.' There were exceptions of course, but for the most part, I really didn't like being a part of the Alliance at first. But I couldn't drop out once I signed with them; everyone had made that perfectly clear from the very beginning. Of course, at the very beginning I didn't know what I was getting into.

I received private training from Clarisse using spears. Frankly, she scared me, and had brutal training techniques that left me quite battered. Clarisse also had no patience what-so-ever, and almost immediately declared me unteachable.

I had healing from Will Solace, who was considerably nicer, but I was too squeamish to even look at any of the small, wounded animals he tried to get me to practice on. I loved animals, but I just couldn't bare to see the blood and the pain.

Another child of Apollo, Andre Williams, taught me archery for a bit. But it was clear as day I wasn't an archer. I still had a few people giving me dirty looks for the stray arrows that somehow lodged in their bodies. Someone remarked I was worse than Percy Jackson, who, for some reason, I was told had no knowledge of the Alliance and shouldn't be told of it's existence by order of Annabeth Chase.

Conner and Travis Stoll each took turns teaching me the art of thievery; I wasn't any good at that either. They worked with Nico on trying to get me to blend into the shadows to be a spy, but I simply made too much noise. They also had assistance from Piper McLean on teaching me to be a convincing liar. But I stuttered and looked down and generally was just so unbelievable that most of the people watching my training burst into laughter.

I wasn't terrible at sword fighting, taught to me by Kyle Symth and Nicole Moreau. But Kyle said I didn't have the build for it. And Nicole just kind of shook her head after the first couple of matches I fought in.

Things started looking up for me when Katie Gardner and Ozzy Dickens taught me all about the woods and nature. I really excelled at that because my mother was the goddess of spring time, but, again, I wasn't quiet enough or stealthy enough to be a tracker, which is the guild nature training would lead into.

Annabeth Chase, the head of the Alliance herself, tried to train me to think strategically. But the big words she constantly used gave me a headache and I quickly decided I didn't want to continue those lessons.

In the end, they just gave me a dagger and told me not to opt for the front line.

Nothing seemed to work for me at all. I was hopeless. What made it worse was that the Alliance held all training sessions and meetings around midnight in the woods or down by the canoe lake. There was always a chance of being caught, but it was necessary to meet at the odd hours of the night so as to keep the secret of this organization quiet. I was always so nervous sneaking out of my cabin. It wasn't the contract I signed that forced me to remain with the Alliance, but my determination to prove I wasn't a weakling. My pride was very important to me, because I guess I felt like people dismissed me because I was the daughter of the goddess of flowers. But in my heart I knew I couldn't prove something that wasn't true.

People tell me that I doubt myself too much. But really, if I seriously can't do something, why should I pretend I can? What's the point in dodging reality?

And then came my first mission.

It was simple really. Medusa had reformed and a small group was dispatched to go take care of it the night of the 13th of July, and to return in the earlier hours of the morning of the 14th before anyone noticed we were gone from camp. They told me how hard it was to cover up for people when they were sent on missions for the Alliance, so we had to get the job done quickly. I was permitted to tag along with Hayden Landwen, Kyle, and Conner just for observation purposes.

But Conner ended up turning half to stone from looking into Medusa's eyes. Kyle rammed into Medusa though, knocking her over and breaking the eye contact. Hayden was perched up in a tree with his bow and arrows, but he kept missing because he couldn't turn around to see were Medusa was without being turned to stone himself. Because of his lack of knowing where the arrows were going, one of them accidentally hit Kyle, but he was smart and covered his eyes so Medusa couldn't do anything much to him in his injured state.

Conner was slowly turning back to his regular self (Annabeth later speculated that since Medusa had just reformed, she was weaker and her powers weren't as effective), but at a very slow rate. Kyle was down. Hayden was firing blindly, none of the arrows having the luck to hit Medusa. And the snake-haired woman herself? Well, she was coming at me from behind, I could tell because of the mirror I had positioned to see over my shoulder.

And then something weird happened. I pulled out my dagger instead of running like I should have, like I would have. But something clicked. My demigod instincts were telling me the monster needed to die. So, right as Medusa was directly behind me, I spun around with my eyes closed and stabbed her in the forehead. I heard her scream into my ear, and I swear I was about to go deaf. But then the yelling faded, and I deemed it safe to open my eyes. There was a pile of dust at my feet. My dagger was still in my hand, but it was now held in the air, no longer stabbing the monster.

I had done it; I couldn't believe it. I had actually managed to kill Medusa. _The _Medusa. All the times I'd ran from Hades' monsters, that's all I ever did: run. The only monster that ever scarred me was a fury, who left a long line of red up my arm. But I didn't kill the fury; Nico, being Hades' son, ordered the monster away. That's when he found me. Medusa was the first monster I physically killed.

It felt weird. It didn't make me feel like a murderer like I thought it would. But rather, I felt a sense of victory and accomplishment, like I'd finally proven myself. And I had.

When we made it back to Camp Half-Blood, most of the Alliance was quite skeptical of the story we told and how no one could even remotely get their weapons near Medusa, and then suddenly I just came out and stabbed her. They made it sound a lot more badass then it had been in actuality. The truth was, I had been quaking in my Converse. I tried to explain this too, but they just wrote it off as modesty, even though it really wasn't.

I was fully accepted into the Alliance that day. It wasn't voiced, but I knew it. Something had changed in the air and in the way people talked to me. They had finally started to tolerate me and treat me like one of their own.

I made several friends in the Alliance, a few of them being Hayden, Kyle, and Shayne Perry. Sure there were still people wary of me, and some who hadn't made a secret of their distaste for me (like Thalia Grace when the members of the Alliance who were also in the Hunt visited), but, overall, I was starting to see them as my family.

My dad died quite some years ago, back when I was still living in England. I'd never actually met Persephone. Nico, my best friend, was really all the family I had, and he wasn't even around that often. But once I started to view the Alliance as my family, I saw life at Camp Half-Blood in a different light too. I made a lot of friends outside the Alliance at camp. I started to view Half-Blood Hill as my home. Maybe it was a little late since I'd been living here for a while now, but I really started to feel that I belonged here. It was a nice feeling that I had missed more than I knew until I had it back again.

But nothing stays the same forever these days. And so, naturally, chaos would have to take over the Alliance upon the arrival of Aurora and Etriuce with another child of a Titan.


	2. Coffee Shop

**Legend**

**Chapter 2: Coffee Shop**

**Hayden Landwen**

* * *

I'm Hayden. I'm not really one to go off into long, detailed stories, so I won't give you a full background check on me or whatever it is you're expecting. For a demigod, I guess I had the average undesirable past, but after that quest to finish off Medusa, my life sure did get interesting.

Having Sabire drop in on that one meeting changed the Alliance. I don't know whether it was for the better or worse, but she brought a sort of child-like innocence with her. A dazed happy streak. It's not like she was young or ignorant, but she made everything a little more lighthearted; laughs rose constantly while watching her train. It wasn't that she herself was funny, and it wasn't that anyone was making fun of her, it was just that something shifted in the air when the Alliance would meet. It was somehow less serious, I suppose.

Serious wasn't really my atmosphere, though I myself was a serious person. I need something to contradict me; it's a little weird, but true. I didn't really like lying all too much either; I didn't have a severe problem with it, but that didn't mean I had to enjoy standing there and ranting alongside with Conner and Kyle about how great she was. Really, if we were being perfectly honest here, she was shaking harder than an avalanche. Sabire Andrews was very lucky that Medusa wasn't at her most powerful, and that she had managed, by some miracle, to knife her. The idea of the whole mission was to test her, but we also didn't want to put her down. So when everyone else had gone off besides the Founders, me, Conner, and Kyle, we told them what had really happened.

"You slipped up," Annabeth accused, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. "The call shouldn't have been that close; Conner shouldn't have almost turned to stone."

"Hey, I'm sorry, alright?" Conner snapped back at her.

Annabeth sighed. "Fine. But that's not the problem. The problem is the question of Sabire Andrews."

"She already signed and we can't have any loose ends," Katie reminded everyone present.

But Clarisse had been quick to argue, sharpening one of her spearheads absently. "Yeah, but we can't have someone as weak as her around; she'll mess everything up."

"She had the guts to not run," Kyle defended Sabire. "That should probably count for something."

"We'll see how it goes from here." Those had been Jake's only words throughout the whole conversation, not that I was terribly surprised; the son of Hephaestus didn't ever really do much talking during meetings of any kind.

"We should probably head back to our cabins now; the sun will be up soon." Will looked out to the east, keeping his eyes on the horizon.

And that was basically how that had really went. It'd been awhile since we'd had anyone join, so Sabire Andrews had become the hottest topic of conversation around the Alliance. I think some Hermes kids were handling all bids and bets for how long she'd last. But after our lying about the Medusa escapade, people genuinely started to accept her. She did become one of my friends, if only because no one had told her to steer clear of "that Landwen freak" yet. But someone would eventually. And then my limited friend count would drop again.

I'd been bullied a lot, for a few different reasons. Whatever reasons anyone could find really. It didn't happen so much in the Alliance; people in the Alliance just made little jokes and teased me. They weren't trying to be mean or anything, I was sure of it, but it did hurt. It hurt more than the cuts on my wrists anyway.

But enough of that. I said I wasn't going into long, drawn-out back-stories right? Right. I don't want to be self-pitying, and I really don't like people who are. What's the point? Shit happens, you know? Of course you do; everybody deals with some shit at some point, and they deal with it in different ways.

So, anyway, it was a few weeks after that joke of a Medusa hunting quest when Aurora and Etrius showed up. They were what you might call 'demititans,' who were beings that were half Titan and half mortal. They were more powerful than demigods apparently, but Aurora and Etrius never told us which Titans were their parents, and they didn't want to give it away either, so they didn't really show off their powers all too much. But when they did visit, it stirred up a lot of nervous tension in the Alliance. They made people edgy, I guess.

They never really announced when they'd come, but when they did, they tended to hang around. This time, they brought another guy with them, another demititan.

When they did make their appearance, they were arguing. Again. There was hardly a moment when they weren't on each other about something or other. This time, it happened to be over music. Gods. Both were very opinionated and didn't ever really back down, but when they fought about music it could take weeks before they'd speak of anything else. The two were sort of loners with only the other for company most days; I really wondered how they never ended up killing each other. I'm sure they had tried at some point, but I don't think they ever actually would.

The tag-along was trailing behind them, seemingly against his will, hands shoved into his pockets, looking around, but keeping his head down. He looked kind of uncomfortable to be here, with a touch of distaste in his gaze.

Aurora, who was just a tad more civil then Etrius, jabbed him in the ribs upon noticing most of the assembled Alliance was watching them fight. He looked up, apparently just now noticing this too, and shut up. Etrius really didn't talk much unless he was arguing with Aurora, so Aurora basically did all the talking, per usual.

"Hey, guys. It's been a while, huh? Yeah, sorry about that. So this is Vic," she said, gesturing towards the demititan who was now looking up at us through his overlong bangs, "Vic, these are some... friends of ours." That must have meant they hadn't told him of the Alliance's existence yet, just that we were 'friends.'

Vic looked solemnly at each one of us, before stating, "We're at that camp. I told you I didn't want to go to this place. And these aren't demitians. They're half-bloods. Most of them anyway." His voice echoed slightly around the clearing, bouncing off the trees back at us.

This was the tricky part, always had been the tricky part. Getting them to consider joining without actually giving away the fact that the Alliance did in fact exist.

"And why have so many gathered here? As if a small army..."

Too late; he was on to us. We had to tread these waters even more carefully now.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Can't a girl have some friends? Honestly. You're more superstitious than Etrius sometimes, Vic. So anyway, this is Annabeth." She pointed to each person as she called out their name. "Ozzy. Tedoria. Grover. Juniper. Travis. Conner. Leo. Vlad..." And so on and so forth. When she had introduced almost everyone, she got to Sabire and frowned. Aurora and Etrius hadn't met her yet. Kyle, who was standing next to Sabire, nudged her, and she introduced herself in a quiet voice.

Vic raised an eyebrow. "And the point of this meeting was...?"

Aurora pasted a fake smile on her face, but you could see her eyes narrow ever so slightly; she was losing her patience. She opened her mouth the way someone who was about to tell you off would, but Etrius touched her arm lightly and shook his head. He must have known then, I assumed, known that any possible recruit was essential; the larger our numbers the more effective a force we were. But it was a double-edged sword: the more of us there were, the harder it was to keep the secret.

But anyway, Aurora really doesn't listen to anyone, so she grabbed Etrius and Vic's arms and lead them back into the woods, clearly going to have a little... ah, talk with them.

I could practically see the Alliance as a whole let out a breath. Everyone hated standing still and remaining quiet. Especially the demigods with ADHD. They broke off into small groups, going off to chat and train. I did too, but as I was leaving I noticed Aurora and the guys come back and walk over to the Founders. Vic still didn't look happy, but when he glanced at Aurora, his expression showed a tiny bit of what appeared to be straight-up horror and maybe even an ounce of fear. Rightfully so. Etrius was openly amused. They started talking, and eventually Annabeth held out her hand for him to shake. Doubtfully, Vic toke it.

Hmm. One of the first things you'll ever learn in the Alliance is you don't tick off Aurora.


	3. Road Trippin'

**Legend**

**Chapter 3: Road Trippin'**

**Andre Williams**

* * *

Archery was fun. Archery with the Alliance was not fun, because there was just about no one to compete against, since almost everyone else used a sword or a knife. Hayden, Tedoria, Clio, Will Solace, and Bronwyn Hartman were the only ones besides me that used a bow. But Clio was hardly ever here; rather she was up on Olympus because she was the daughter of a muse. And Will was always too busy, since he was one of the leader guys of this mad house. And Bronwyn, who was my little sister, actually wasn't even that good with a bow. She couldn't even sing. Sometimes, I wondered if she was a daughter of Apollo at all. Then, of course, there were the few in the Hunt who were also in the Alliance, but they were never around either. Tedoria was almost always off with her nymph friends. And I could only verse Hayden so many times without us both becoming unbearably bored.

So, I hardly even used my bow and arrows in the Alliance, because shooting at regular old bull's eyes was no fun either. Most of the time, I just laid propped up on my elbows in the grass, watching everyone else train while listening to my music.

I like a very wide variety of music. I believe each song is a piece of artwork in it's own way, and so, therefore, no song could ever be bad. I don't bother with that 'no technology' rule, as you can guess. I didn't download over one-thousand songs on my IPod just to not be able to listen to them. Most of the Alliance didn't follow that rule either, but the Founders had made it absolutely clear: no cell phones. Instead, they gave us walkie-talkies, which seemed a little bit too Spy Kids to be fun. That didn't stop the Stolls or Leo or any other pranksters from using the 'talkies to their advantage though.

Leo was probably one of my best friends. I have a lot of friends; I guess I'm just an out-going guy or whatever. But he was definitely one of the better ones. He was funny and I knew he wouldn't stab me in the back when I turned around, so he was pretty okay in my book. But most of my friends were Hermes kids, because they provided much needed laughs.

I loved laughter. It was so light-hearted. And with all the drama that ensues around here, well, it was nice to laugh a little. There is a lot of joking and pranking, even if the Alliance is supposed to be a completely serious operation, you can't deny ADHD kids a little fun. Not to mention the gossip and rumors and stories and drama. The prank wars were enough to drive a patient person mad, but that coupled with all that drama... not good. Yes, even here in the Alliance we were not safe from drama, because drama will turn up everywhere, otherwise life would be unacceptably dull. I didn't encourage rumors by any means, but drama was pretty entertaining if I do say so myself.

I lead a laid-back life, compared to most demigods at least. But maybe that was just my perspective, the way I looked at everything. I basically just went with the flow, if you know what I mean. I liked life a lot more than most half-bloods. I didn't see any good reason to not like it, anyway. Sure, I could think of quite a few causes, but my question wasn't 'why?' rather 'why not?' Do you get me? At least a little? Eh, that's all I can really ask for I suppose.

I don't ask for much, honestly. I just live my life and keep my mellow head in my own business. Most of the time at least. One of the times I wasn't happened to be a good fifteen minutes after the rest of the Alliance had left the Founders, Aurora, Etrius, and the new guy alone.

Again, let me restate that I was just laying there, listening to my music with one ear bud in, swinging the other around, and watching everyone else train with an amused smile playing on my lips. I couldn't help that Will Solace and Clarisse la Rue just happened to walk by muttering about secret business at the exact moment that I got up and started to walk down one of the winding dirt paths that wore the way to the Alliance's headquarters, shooting range, stables, and various other places. I found this especially intriguing because their cabins were natural enemies. They were walking on the path opposite mine, the one with all the trees blocking the view, that led to the ring of tents that served as the headquarters, common, and over-night tents. I had overheard a bit of what they were saying, and wouldn't curiosity get the better of anyone? I trailed them silently, thanking the gods the thick trees kept me from immediate notice should they have turned back.

Their voices were low. When Will spoke, it was short, but he was speed-talking, so I guessed he could get out everything he wanted to say. Or not; Clarisse was louder and quick to cut him off. When _she _spoke it was nothing like Will's level-headed but insistent speech; her's was aggressive and, quite frankly, rude. I could hardly catch anything Will said at all, but Clarisse's words I could make out fairly well.

"... nothing... two in a few months... eventually Annabeth will..."

"You're not listening to me, Will! I don't care what your damn happy-go-lucky dad says. Or _what _Miss Princess will do."

"You don't... no room to talk... brain dead barbarians..."

"Hey! At least _my_ dad can actually pack a punch. But my _point_ is Mr. God of Prophecies is usually fairly bad at doing his job. 'A disturbance in nature.' 'An old hero avenged.' Prophecies don't make any sense at all, not to mention they're corny; everyone knows that. So, that's not important. Here's what we _know_: any Titan spawn is bound to be sketchy, at the very least. Aurora's decent. Etrius hardly talks to anyone but Aurora, so I don't know _what_ his deal is. But I don't like the looks of that Vic kid. How'd they manage to find another demititan anyway?"

"I don't... irrelevant... but they said... strange activity... dad's probably right..."

"I. Can't. Stand. You. You're impossible! Like I'm talking to a wall! You're just a stupid Apollo kid! Why do I even bother with any of you people?"

"... typical... no one but yourself..."

But what limited words I could catch from Will's quiet, quick chatter were cut off by himself as his feet came to a pause, and he grabbed Clarisse's arm to stop her as well. His head tipped to the side slightly, as if waiting for something... or listening for someone...

Thankfully, I ducked behind a few bushes a split second before Will spun around. His eyes scanned the ground and the trees above. There wasn't a written set of rules in the Alliance (and there never would be, I hoped) but it went without saying that you don't eavesdrop on the Founders. Ever. I wasn't sure what penalty they would have given me if my mind had been a moment slower to register that he'd realized I was behind them.

"What?" Clarisse snapped, flicking his hand off her arm with a look of annoyance mixed with distaste.

Will's eyes narrowed at the bushes I was hiding behind. But, suddenly, my brother's face was mask of calm as he stood up straighter, turning around to continue walking. I heard his next word as clear as a summer day's blue sky. "Nothing."

But I was sure he'd seen me. Because we had locked eyes. He could only have one intent for not ratting me out: he was making it clear that I owed him.


	4. How Strong

**Legend**

**Chapter 4: How Strong**

**Aurora Crow**

* * *

Despite what you may have been told, I am not usually violent. Only when people are asking for it, which is a perfectly good reason, if you ask me that is. Also, I am _not_ over-controlling. Etrius just makes me talk all the time because he really doesn't like most people. That kind of included me. I'm not really sure what he was to me. I guess he was my kind of friend? I didn't know much about friendship, so I wouldn't be able to tell you whatever we have going on is called.

Etrius was kind of a long story. I was on the run from... well, stuff, and he was on the run from... other stuff... and we almost tried to kill each other when we first met... But never mind that. That's not the point. The point is, I'd been travelling around with the guy for who knows how long and yet I still didn't know if we were friends. I mean, I wanted to bash his face in half the time; the other half the time I was stubbornly ignoring him or vice versa. So yeah; I don't really want to get into all that shit right now.

Anyway, yeah, I'm Aurora. Obviously. And my dad's an evil titan, fair warning. Not that he gives a shit about what happens to me; I just inherited a lot of his powers. And I have invincible wings. So, I think I'm pretty cool. That and my amazing taste in music which Etrius, for some reason, doesn't understand. I hate that dickhead. No, I'm just kidding. We just went through this, didn't we?

So a bit about myself first, yeah?

Okay. Basically my dad raped my mom and killed her when she refused to give me up as a baby. He took me away from the burned house and her burned, lifeless body and held me captive, more or less. I mean, he gave me food and my wings, but other than that, he was a world-class asshole. He vigorously trained me, dawn until dusk and then on into the night. Eventually, I became so skilled with my twin, Imperial gold scythes that I was able to escape from his clutches. I never looked back. He didn't deserve any more of my time. Time... ha. I have all the time in the world and beyond.

So after I gave him the slip, I was on my own, on the streets. The streets didn't need to toughen me up though, as hell had already done the job. After all, any girl that survives with the life I lead is bound to be a fighter. On the run, doing my own thing, and I run into this demigod kid. I don't really mind most of them (demigods, I mean), as they're pretty much just like us demititans (Etrius doesn't agree, but who cares what he thinks?). But I didn't like this one at all. Cocky little son of a bitch. Challenged me to a fight. Hey, guess who won? Uh-huh. _Moi_.

The kid smirked though, as if _he_ had won, and took me back to his freak-show mother-ship. He turned out to be my link into the Alliance. They insisted I join with them, never even really gave me the choice. They said anyone who could fight like I could would be a very valuable asset to the team. Flattery doesn't work on me though. But they had a plan two, where they explained about honorary members and who exactly I'd be in the Alliance: the on call assassin, defender of the weak and all that jazz. Whatever; just don't glorify it. But the way they phrased it did sound pretty badass and I really had nothing better to do, so, yeah. That's how the first demititan got in with a band of half-bloods and a few nymphs and satyrs.

I met Etrius on August 29th, which was about five months after selling my soul to a bunch of demigods and their blonde, demonic leader. We were both out on the streets, but I was the one literally running. From a drakon. Because those bastards are fucking huge. And they breathe fire. So don't judge me. Anyway, Mr. Bravado just had to step in and save the fucking day with his fucking powers of destruction. Great. I hated owing people. Especially if they were named Etrius and liked to argue with me all day every day and nearly drive me over the line that divided regular old crazy and totally fucking insane.

We stuck together after that, even though we almost killed each other (sometimes it _was _accidental) on several occasions. I made him sign with the Alliance, because he was bound to find out why I was sneaking away for days at a time with no substantial excuse. After that, we just sort of roamed around, always on call for a mission from the uptight boss neither of us really liked.

Then there was Vic. I didn't hate him the way I say I hate Etrius, because with Etrius, I know at the end of the day we're fine. But with Vic, well, there was just something about him... Something about him telling me that I needed to run him through with something pointy and preferably shiny. I'm sorry, but I just naturally didn't like him. Sometimes he was fine, but mostly he kind of freaked me out. He obviously was hiding something; I just didn't know what. And so that made me cautious, which made me paranoid, which made me defensive, which made me find him annoying, which made me not like him. See? Simple.

But anyway, enough about me.

Whenever we visited the Alliance, we tended to hang around, mainly because there was always so much stuff going on in the Alliance and so many other people to talk to who weren't the other. You can only talk to one other person for some many months before you get in line for the Cuckoo Express.

The headquarters was in the center of the camp, which was invisible to anyone not in the Alliance. In front of that, there was a mini clearing, which had a bunch of round tables with wooden chairs: the common. Around the common like a barrier were the tents. The tents were arranged in a circle, two people to a tent, even though most days the people who had cabins at Camp Half-Blood would go back to them. But thank whoever that those tents were big. And then in the middle of the ring was the campfire where we sang the Campfire Song Song and threw half-melted marshmallows at each other in the evenings when there was nothing better to do. The fire wasn't magical like that big one that everyone in Camp Half-Blood used.

I never really strayed out of the forests of Camp Half-Blood before, but mainly because I didn't see reason too. The few times I had, I'd done so because I was simply curious. After all, I'd never been to a regular summer camp, let alone one for demigods. But I wasn't a demigod, so why should I care? There was no camp for demititans, as far as I knew. Whatever.

So back to what I was saying about the tents, there were always some empty ones set aside for the honorary members. Etrius and I had to share one when the Hunt and Nico and Grover and everyone else was staying in the Alliance overnight. But when they weren't, we had the leisure of each getting our own. That was good. I didn't like being around Etrius while at the Alliance's base (even if he didn't really talk to any of the others) because, honestly, I just needed a break from him every once and a while, and I'm sure he'd tell you the same.

I was lying down on the floor of the tent I was renting out, even if there was a perfectly fine wooden bunk-bed next to me, staring up at the flimsy ceiling. Don't ask me why. You should have already figured this out by now: I'm weird. Alright? Jeez, give me a break. And that was how I fell asleep too: with my eyes open, and still laying on the floor.

You know how demigods have dreams? Yeah? Well, so do demititans. And believe me, if you know anything of nightmares, they aren't exactly the highlight of my night. My nightmares usually consist of flashbacks. But sometimes... sometimes, they were worse than the horrible memories that I don't want to relive.

Like messages from my so called 'father.' I'm sure you've probably figured out who he is, if not, here's a hint: my eyes are pure gold. I can almost see the wheels turning, the gasps from the audience. Yeah? So what if my dad is Kronos? Get over yourselves. That doesn't mean I'm anything like him. He was the lousiest 'dad' ever. Like, _ever_. I hate him. Actually, I don't just hate him; I want to kill him myself. I know he's immortal, but I swear, I fill find a way to destroy him permanently. _Forever_.

So anyway, the message.

The dreams only ever took place by the pit of Tartarus, or in a shadowed room with his shadow sitting on his golden throne. This time, it was the throne room. I never actually saw him in these dreams; I only heard his voice, chilling and ancient and powerful. I also usually never spoke; I didn't want to give him that satisfaction. But this time, he didn't talk. In fact, I was almost certain I was alone until fire shot from the ceiling to the floor not a foot in front of me. I jumped back. But the fire was enchanted fire, and began spelling out words, not actually burning the floor. Leaving me a message from the person I hated most.

_You will serve your father,_

That wasn't anything new. He'd been trying to get me to do that since the day he killed my mom.

_Or b__e a slave to your king._

Wow. Love you too, dear father.

_Heed my warning, I will rise,_

You can try...

_Find it before then,_

... Unfortunately, I knew what 'it' was.

_Before the last canary ceases to sing._

And the last line basically meant 'do what I want, or I kill everyone.' Talk about cheesy.

Wouldn't he be just perfect for parent career day at school?


	5. Purple Stain

**Legend**

**Chapter 5: Purple Stain**

**Etrius Falke**

* * *

The sun annoyed me. So, naturally, I hated bright lights, the color yellow, and children of Apollo. But the sun most of all. I liked my sleep in the mornings, thank you very much. Go bother the other side of the globe and leave me the hell alone. But Apollo's a bastard who apparently thinks it's funny to ruin the sleep I so desperately need, as it's almost always interrupted by _something. _I deserved one good thing in all the shit I've lived through, right? Eh, whatever. I don't care if you agree with me or not.

There had never been a particular time when I was what you might call 'happy.' At least, not for longer than a few precious, fleeting moments. And those were far in between and gone almost as soon as they came. I suppose it's not expected of someone like me to be happy. I hate to conform to other's expectations of me, but really, it's just the way I am.

Come to think of it, I don't think I really like anything that much. No, not really. Sure, there are the little things. You know, thunderstorms, burnt grilled cheese, _good _music (Hi, Aurora), running, et cetera, et cetera. But it would be much easier to fill a notebook with things I hate rather than like. Well, there are very few things I truly hate; I just don't like a lot of things. I guess I've always been a pessimist with a crooked sense of humor.

Oh, but I_ did_ like not having to share a tent with Aurora. She talks in her sleep; it's all a bunch of nonsense and it keeps me up longer than I'd usually stay awake for.

There are only a few places that I have spent the night at that are nicer than the Alliance; even if most of them are annoying little fuckers, their tents were pretty well stocked and furnished. One of the only pluses of being here. Aurora forces me to visit here with her. And forced me to sign with them too. Hell, she forces me to do a lot of shit, come to think of it.

I don't take shit from anyone, but Aurora's... well, she's Aurora. Even _I'm_ not stupid enough to piss her off. All the time... intentionally... Okay, so I piss her off a lot. But it's not my fault. She's like a fucking time bomb just waiting to blow: easily detonated and extremely tricky to disarm. Not that I ever let her know that she's right. I'm pretty damn stubborn; it's rare our many arguments ever get us anywhere.

That was probably the only other upside to staying with the Alliance: there were more people besides just me and her, so there was less of a chance we'd kill each other and lose the only person who'd ever put up with us willingly for any amount of time. But I didn't exactly like or talk to most of the other people in the Alliance, though I did like peace and absolute silence.

The son of the Titan of destruction likes peace. We live in a jacked up world. Take cover my not-so-friends.

The real downside to this was that whenever we came, Aurora liked to stay for a week or two or a fucking month at a time. And that was seriously testing my patience, as if she didn't do that already. And I don't have much patience to begin with; not even when it comes to her.

You know who was really ticking me off lately? Yeah, that other demititan we picked up like a disease. Vic or whatever. Now, a lot of people annoy me, but I'd already wasted all my patience on refraining from ripping my hair out during Aurora and my uncivilized, heated 'debates.' Or shouting matches. Whatever you want to call them. Arguments. Exchanges of death threats that we'd never follow up on, though bodily harm was fair game. Eh, I'm getting off track. Back to that Victor Dartwood kid. I had no patience left to put up with him, so I basically lagged behind the whole time, letting Aurora take care of the problem of what to do with him.

He was a powerful demititan. One of the major ones like Aurora and I. That was obvious. So, yeah, he'd make a good recruit. And, if he signed, we could dump him here and that would be that. Yeah, great plan, Aurora. She really should have just left him there to die, even of leaving someone in a place like that was cruel. It'd have been a hell of a lot easier. But no. For a child of Kronos, she had an unreasonably big heart, no matter how much she hid or denied it. But, honestly, that was one of her more admirable traits, even if it was infuriating in times such as these. There was going to be some kind of big firefight to come in the near future, I could just tell, and when things like that happen, it was grab your best friend and run. Not some random little twit and your best friend.

I was, naturally, suspicious of him. Who wouldn't be? So, though I sort of sat back on the sidelines and kept my mouth shut, I was watching him carefully. I don't think he's a spy for the Titan's or anything. But he's just not the type to be trusted. Then again, who can you trust these days? Really, truly trust? I can only name three people. However, one of them is dead and the other is myself, so I can technically only name one.

But anyway, I am really off track now. I was supposed to be talking about how much I hate the sun. Because it woke me up as it shined through the flimsy material of the tent from one of the only nights I'd managed more than an hour or two of sleep.

I'm not a morning person. I don't like mornings. I don't like people who are morning people. I don't really like people in general either. So, case settled, I was usually all around horrible to anyone or anything during the a.m. hours. Does anyone even know what a.m. stands for? Maybe I'll get Aurora to bother one of the Athena kids about it. But no, while I was here, I rarely spoke to Aurora. Or anyone, but that was a given.

I blinked the sleep out of my straining eyes, sitting up so that the sheets fell to my waist, and running a hand through my jet black hair. It was getting too long again. I'd have to hack it off with a knife soon before Aurora could attempt to do it for me. Honestly, she cared a lot more about my hair than I did. I think she's OCD or a perfectionist or something like that. No. This is a vacation from Aurora, and she's not allowed to control my thoughts when she's not even in the same room as me. She's not allowed to control my thoughts when we're in the same room either. Not that she ever_ tries_ to.

I rolled my head around, trying to work the stiffness out of my neck. I sleep on a weird angle, so it always hurts when I wake up.

But, really, besides making a list of all the things I don't like and of course, Aurora, there wasn't much to think about. When you isolate yourself with only one other person for company, no knowledge of what goes on in the world around you, and not being allowed to have a permanent residence or carry electronics (though I still had my IPod, as a lot of people did), you don't have much else to think about.

I propelled myself off of the bottom bunk of the bed and swung my arms back and forth, trying to fully wake up my body. Challenging task that was. Fighting to hold back a yawn, I rubbed the back of my neck with my left hand while pushing open the flap of my tent with the other. Dammit; more sunlight; I had to shield my eyes as I made my way over to the tent next to mine, ignoring the rest of the common area and the people milling around. Idiots. Am I the only one who appreciates sleeping in?

I entered Aurora's tent with a sour expression on my face, loathing myself. I was supposed to be taking a break from that damn girl; I'm too used to her presence that it feels weird if she's not there. Besides, I wasn't quite up for another fight this early. But fighting with her was damn entertaining. And there really was nothing else to do... Wow. I can't even convince myself. That's pathetic. By everything that's holy in this world or the next, I really hate what she makes me do.

She was awake, sitting cross-legged on the top bunk, her elbows resting on her knees and her face in her hands. I made my way over to her, leaning against the ladder on the end of the bunk bed. I knew that she knew I was there. So I waited for the inevitable screaming and complaints and general rudeness and profanity that always poured out of her mouth in the mornings when I disturbed her; Aurora wasn't a morning person either. But none of that ever came. She just sat there until, eventually, she looked up with a sigh to meet my eyes. I could tell by the look in them. I could tell right away.

"Dear old dad paid me a visit last night," she stated in an off-hand, detached voice. "Apparently, we need to go catch up with my other relatives. Or he starts the killing game. Fun, right?" Her golden eyes, the exact copy of the Titan lord of time's and yet so different, flashed with a barely contained rage.

Fuck. I really picked a bad time to bother her. But if he had contacted her... Well, the last time... it hadn't gone so well. And her 'other relatives'...

I had been right then. There was some serious shit going to hit soon. But as much as she hid it, she hated being alone after her so called 'father' contacted her. I think it helped her to be around other people because other people weren't Kronos.

So that's what made me climb up the ladder and flop down on her bunk, shaking the frame. I leaned back against the foot board, and she leaned back against the head board. When these things happened, it was best to just let her talk.

"Etrius, do you remember that trip to the Underworld to get those things for the Alliance?"

Those 'things?' Not 'thing?' We'd made several trips to the Underworld. Four of the them had been on business for the Alliance. The first time we'd sneaked into Hades' palace to steal a whole bunch of Prosphene's pearls. The second time we'd had to pick up Nico di Angelo for an emergency meeting. The third time we'd just brought back some information. And the last... Oh... _Oh._.. Shit... Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_! That's what he was up to...?

Fucking dammit, didn't we ever get a break?

She must have seen the recognition in my eyes, because she nodded her head dully at me, confirming it.

"He'll kill everyone either way; we delay him if you ignore the message."

Aurora shook her head slowly. "I've thought about that; he'd expect us to come to that conclusion, which is why he phrased it the way he did. If we can round up my siblings and we go get it for him, he won't kill _everyone_. Just less people. That's the best offer we've got as of now. Unless you want to fight. But... we... _I _wouldn't be able to, for reasons you already know. He'll control me, use me as a weapon against you if we don't at least appear to be cooperating with him."

I heaved a heavy sigh. "When do you want to leave?"

She frowned. "Well, I'm not exactly to keen on meeting up with the gang anytime _too_ soon, so... beginning of August."

I scowled. "And then we get to go help destroy the world."

"Perfect, ain't it?"


	6. Behind The Sun

**Legend**

**Chapter 6: Behind The Sun**

**Sabire Andrews**

* * *

It's the beginning of August now. The humidity is almost unbearable, the rain of late summer is already setting in, and the sun seems intent on burning us all to ash. And maybe it would with time.

I was sitting under one of the many large trees in one of the sections in the sprawling forest used by the Alliance. The descending sun broke through the canopy of leaves in some places; in others it threw shadows against the trees, the grass, myself, and my companions.

After months of knowing Shane, I still cannot tell you one solid fact about him other than that his name is Shane Micheal Perry Junior. He was ever changing, ever evolving to fit whatever situation he was thrown into next. He was the type of person that you don't notice immediately, not a face nor voice nor soul to remember. But he was one of us and that's just the way it was.

Hayden; him I can give you a better picture of. He tired often, practiced with his bow and arrows often, remained silent often, was serious often, and got depressed often. But he was one of the most fiercely loyal people you could ever meet. He'd let you rant and scream and cry about any nonsense at all and he would sit there and take it. Yes, I knew the rumors and the stories concerning him, but that didn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Because, to me, he was just Hayden. He was just my friend, Hayden.

Then, lastly, there was Kyle, who sat next to me, his back to the tree, eyes intently staring up through the leaves at the fading sun, as if determined to watch until it disappeared over the horizon, even though sunsets weren't anything special as they happened every day. He's the most optimistic of the four of us. Always has been too. He ignored the shadows of the sun, and focused on it's brightness. He was a dreamer, without doubt. An unrealistic dreamer who dreamed far bigger than any one person had ever dreamed before, and yet he did nothing more than dream.

Dreaming was something that we all did. I stared through the leaves high above our heads and dreamed of what lay behind the sun, trying to see the world from his point of view. But, of course, no one perspective is exactly like another, and Kyle's was so unique, no one else's could ever be even a relative match.

But perhaps there was some sense to that. Dreaming of behind the sun. Beneath the surface. Passed the obvious. In between the cracks of reality. It was a worthy thing to spend, say, a few minutes pondering. But since there is no way of being absolutely certain of what lay behind the things we all see by simply dreaming, I found it a rather useless activity. I didn't understand what Kyle saw in it, so I stopped looking up as the sun made it's decline in the sky, because no one can ever grasp what Kyle sees and, after all, there is always another sunset. Two valuable facts of life.

Alternatively, a fact of death is that there will be no more sunrises, which left me dumbfounded at the irony of my mind's aimless wanderings.

The forest was never silent, and now made no exception. The chirping and songs of the ever active birds, the rushing water of the river, the whistling wind flying through the trees, the pitter-patter of animals' paws, the howls' of monsters in the distance, the rustle of the leaves above, and the light breathing of whoever happened to be in your earshot. It was a disorganized, beautiful symphony of a wide assortment of sounds. But now, right now just sitting in a peaceful lapse of time with three of my four best friends, it was as quiet as this forest could ever possibly be. A completely comfortable, relaxed silence.

I reviewed their positions again. Kyle beside me, Hayden perched in the lowest branch, Shane leaning against a tree close to ours. Their faces, so different in feature, were at this moment so similar in content that they might have passed as each other in a former life.

I smiled to myself as I traced a meaningless pattern into the slightly moist soil beneath me. This was more my speed. I loved the thrill of monster hunting and fighting, as I had slowly progressed to becoming an average warrior, which had made Annabeth finally, somewhat, grudgingly, tolerant of me. But, all the same, this calm in the middle of the storm right here, this was one of the moments in my life where I felt truly at ease with the world.

To be a demigod and experience this feeling was the most unusual of events, so I cherished this as much as I could in the light of the dying sun.

And with the dying sun came the growth of the shadows of which my brother of sorts would choose to appear quietly across from me as if he were one of his own subjects: a ghost. His hood pulled low over his bent head obscured his face from view, and the darkness of his clothes allowed him to melt into the background as if the angel of death watching with vigilance over the unsuspecting mortals. And he was silent, but he was there, and it was him.

Kyle tensed up next to me, aware of the son of Hades' presence, though his clear blue eyes remained focused on the purples of the sky. Shane and Hayden, I suspected, were not yet conscious of him. Just as well; not many had the perception of noticing when Nico made his appearance. I, however, would not break this quiet, for two reasons that is. Firstly, if Nico did not want conversation, he would make no move to ignite it or give no signal for anyone else to initiate it either. Secondly, it was now that I had all the people I held dear around me, even if Kyle was not at the ease he was before. A selfish thought, yes.

But for now, I would stare at these people who would stare at the sun, or the woods, or off into nowhere, and I would enjoy this, I was determined to, even if it is to be the last thing I shall ever do. Until the building tension forced this away, I would try to forget the stresses and eternally live my life now.

Of course, 'now' changes with every passing second. Time moves along more steadily than anything else, for the most part. And this moment was just that: a moment in a day in a month in a year in a split second in the history of time. Time: the enemy; time: the savior. Time always changed, and yet time always remained the same. So I should have anticipated this to last no longer than it was destined to, which was a moment.

It ended on Nico's step out of the shade of his tree and gliding with stealth, darkness, and silence out into the fast retreating light, though his face remained shadowed from his bangs and his hood. Kyle brought up his chin in acknowledgement of him to look up into the space where he judged Nico's eyes to be. Hayden jumped down from his branch and landed with a thud off to Kyle's right, with Shane coming in on my left. We too much resembled a wall against him for me to feel a fraction of the ease I felt a moment ago. I stepped up to meet my first friend, my best friend, my brother once again.

"Hi, Nico." My voice sounded strange to pierce the quiet, but it was necessary to be done. I took another step towards him, unhesitantly hugging his frame to me. I could not remember when we had last made any contact, though I do remember the fleeting conversation. If he were actually voluntarily showing his face here, I would force him to stay or at least make a decent dialogue with me, whether or not the others wanted his presence.

Nico didn't hug. It was a universal truth. He just sort of stood there like an emotionless rock, though, of course, I knew he was neither. But I did my best to make the embrace work, as I always had to. After several endless moments, he began to pull away, so I grudgingly released him, though I did take the second to flick the hood off his head, at which he scowled and I just smiled a small smile in return.

"So, what brings you to this side of the track?" I asked jokingly; we both knew he didn't show up here if he could help it, only if the Founders ordered it or he had to do one of his monthly reports. He'd just I.M. me if he felt like talking, though I I.M.'d him more often then he. He kept very busy; he was the Alliance's finest spy, and his father's lieutenant after all, though he did run a lot of personal errands and missions that he liked to keep quiet.

"I am under strict orders not to divulge any information regarding the previous series of missions I have undertaken to any who do not already recognize the situation." Hands clenched in his pockets, jaw tight, eyes vacant. His face remained smooth and impassive throughout the entire sentence, which was normal. He spoke distinctly, formally, and detached, which was normal as well. What worried me was that he usually only gave very short answers or a nod or shake of his head as answer to any question. Also, Nico was not one to follow orders, so whatever this was, it was serious, too important for the order not to be obeyed, so grave that he'd feel the need to keep information from me of all people.

"Hey, Nico." Kyle edged forward subtly, but not subtly enough to escape the eyes of the Ghost King, who was literally born to register everything, take it all in, and dismiss it like the spy he was trained to be.

Nico inclined his head as way of greeting the three others of my closest friends.

A beat of heavy silence.

But then, "I merely hoped to glance a look at your face a last time before I faced the dragon," he said to me, referring to his meeting with Annabeth Chase, the head of the Alliance in all her perfect, blonde glory, and the rest of the Founders. "I should be off then." And then, just like that, he was one with the shadows once again, as he always had been; the shadows were him, and he was the shadows.

And in the now darkness of these same woods I cherished for their sentiments, I'd never felt more more unsettled by the world around me, and what could possibly lay behind the sun.


	7. Green Heaven

**Legend**

**Chapter 7: Green Heaven**

**Hayden Landwen**

* * *

Sabire Andrews. What can I say for her? Clearly, she is the type to speak good of others, and it's rare that happens for me, so I figure I should return the favor. Or maybe that was a compliment in and of itself. It really shouldn't matter as much as it did that I now had a solid group of people to accept me, to sit with, to be with, to cry with, to sometimes laugh with. Is that what you'd call a friend? I guess. My first friend, Sabire Andrews, a saint I tell you.

I suppose you want me to explain further; I'm not going to, and, no, I won't say that 'I'm sorry' either. Come to think of it, I've only said sorry a couple of times in my life and meant it. Oh, the life of a demigod.

Trees are friends; it's simple really. I've always loved nature, and with trees, I can climb up really high, see the world, feel the wind, and be alone with my thoughts. Unless the trees were talkative that day, but most times the nymphs' spirits wandered away, leaving behind just a regular old tree until they returned once again. That's when I did my climbing. I'd sit up there and think and watch the world and see it's secrets unfold.

But it was hiding it's secrets very well lately. I said that Sabire Andrews brought a lighter chapter for the Alliance once, didn't I? Yes. Well, I've now realized that was only temporary, the calm before the inevitable storm, the beginning of a series of events that would change the Alliance forever.

We have had exactly five recruits so far this summer, and that is unheard of. We usually only get one,_ maybe_ two a summer. Something was going on. The Founders were sending out their scouts and spies to look for more soldiers. But it wasn't just more people to sign with us, they also brought back top secret information and coded messages and hidden... things. No one but those who were already in on it knew. Except me. Because I saw everything from up here, even if I couldn't exactly hear the words.

Like right now, Nico di Angelo was entering the headquarters where a few of the Founders were still hanging around discussing something. Kyle and Nicole were down at the sword play arena. Sabire was in her tent. Shane went off into Camp Half-Blood, as did most of the others, only some going to the tents to sleep for the night. Andre Williams was sitting at the empty archery range doing... nothing. No, wait, he was sleeping, of course. Vic Dartwood just entered his tent, presumably sulking, as people weren't allowed to leave the Alliance until a month after they signed. Vlad Covet was sneaking around close by the headquarters with some unknown purpose... Hmm... I'd check that out later. Annabeth was walking out of Alliance territory and down to the beach where Percy Jackson sat with his feet in the surf; I, and most of everyone else in the Alliance, had never understood Annabeth's reasoning on keeping him out of this. Bronwyn Marie Heart, Clio, and Teodoria were sitting around the campfire talking. Night had finally fallen at the Alliance.

But just because night falls doesn't mean that the day is over. No, it's not nearly over at all. It's usually just the beginning of the drama. And I had the front row seat right up here in one of the many 'easy climbing' trees in the center of the Alliance's blocked off section of the forest, right behind the headquarters in fact.

I saw it all. Everything that happened under the moon and sun. It was just the way I lived. It took my mind of my problems and transferred my thoughts to everyone else's, and let me hide away from the world while still watching it's events unfold. I suppose it wasn't a bad deal, wasn't as bad a life as I made it out to be, distancing myself from the world that is. But I needed to distance myself or else, as I'd learned over all these sixteen years I've walked this Earth.

"Yo, Shorty!"

I nearly fell out of my tree. Grabbing a hold of one of the branches to steady myself, I glanced down towards the floor of the forest where Jessie stood grinning up at me. I sighed, exasperated. "Fine. You got me, happy?"

Her grin broadened, and she began climbing up to sit in a fork made by two branches across from the one I was haphazardly perched on. She swung her legs back and forth, gauging my reaction which, to her disappoint, was a mask of tired disinterest. Really, I was used to this by now; Jessie seemed to float around, it's rare anyone noticed her, kind of like me. She frowned at my lack of response for a moment, before the grin retook her face. "I'm always happy." She shrugged, puffing her cheeks out a bit.

I rolled my eyes. "So I've noticed."

"Yeah, but that doesn't count because you notice everything. Well, except when I sneak up on you; you're slacking off." She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Yeah but that doesn't count because no one hears you coming."

"True enough."

We lapsed into a momentary silence, and by momentary, I mean it lasted a nanosecond, which is the closest it ever gets to silence around Jessica M. Backerson.

"So... what's on tonight's episode?"

I snorted, but nonetheless, I grudgingly gave her the rundown of what was currently up with the Alliance. She'd been doing this a lot, coming up, sitting here, expecting a show. Well, was I really so different?

Jessie bounced around Camp Half-Blood and the Alliance talking to everyone, being nice to everyone, even if most people outside of the Alliance and even some inside it thought she was a freak (we had that in common as well). But she kind of stuck around me during the evenings when she'd decide she wanted some reality TV. I don't know. Were we friends? Uh-uh. But she tolerated me because she tolerated everyone. Well, that and the fact that we both were considered outsiders, even if she didn't really care because she was pretty much her own party anyway, people shook her off as soon as possible because of what she was, something she couldn't control. Like they did to me. We empathized with each other, because we faced the same so called 'problem.'

She continued with the leg swinging, watching our world's secrets unravel below her, babbling about inconsequential things that I just tuned out.

What did it mean to live? I'd always kind of sat back and watched, I had always just _been_, never really doing anything myself. Was that wrong? A bitter laugh echoed around my head. There were so many things wrong with me that I swear I can't even begin to describe the top hundred. I know demigods all got their own problems, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm just too pessimistic, or I give up too easily, or... or maybe the truth is I'm just ashamed of myself.

Well, what's there to be ashamed of? I'm me. There's nothing wrong with that, no matter what anyone else tries to tell me.

I wish I was one of those people who could just brush off the dirt and get up and on with my life. Jessie was. And we were in the same boat. If she could do it with seemingly no effort, why couldn't I? Maybe there really was a glitch in my brain. Maybe that was it. It would certainly explain quite a bit. If I was Jessica, this wouldn't be bothering me so much. I'd be accepted if I were her, and she would be too if she were me.

"Hey, Jess," I interrupted whatever it was she was saying, "wouldn't it be great if we could switch places? If I was born in your body and you were born in mine?"

For once, she stopped talking for more than a nanosecond. Her face was carefully guarded and grave, eyes calculating, but also, I almost think I might have saw something that appeared to be... sympathy? Pity? I didn't want pity. "You really don't get it, do you?" she asked quietly, sadly.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This was not Jessie, this was not the way that she acted, this was not the way she talked. It was like an entirely different person took her over for this little time.

She continued on in a voice that did not seem like her own, "I'm fine the way I am. I don't need people to like or accept me, unlike you, Hayden. I'm _proud_ of who I am. I'm not embarrassed or... or whatever it is they try to make us think we should be. I don't want people to approve of me if they do it for the wrong reasons. I like girls, Hayden, but I will freely admit it. There's nothing wrong with that either. I'm content with myself. I think it's time you learned to accept you." She gave me one last meaningful look before disappearing down the tree and through the forest where I watched her head off into Camp Half-Blood territory.

I leaned my head back against the rough bark of the tree, a sigh escaping my lips, watching everything below. But after a very short while, it all suddenly seemed much too close. I climbed another couple yards higher, even farther away, out of reach of the world; it didn't help.


	8. Wet Sand

**Legend**

**Chapter 8: Wet Sand**

**Andre Williams**

* * *

"Wake up!"

A sharp pain was inflicted by my sister's sneaker kicking my side to rouse me.

I blinked my eyes up at her, confused, looking around. "Where...? Oh, archery range. Right, okay," I groaned out, shifting onto my side and yanking the earbuds from my left ear, followed by my right. I leaned up on my elbows, assessing the darkened sky, the range of targets, and Bronwyn's eyes looking down into mine. I tried to sit up fully, only to groan again at the ache of protest my side made.

"Yeah," she mumbled, looking around and scratching the back of her neck. "I'm sorry about that; you're a heavy sleeper."

I sighed heavily, reaching up a hand, gesturing for her to help me up. She took hold of it and hulled me to my feet. She was actually quite strong for a tiny little thing; honestly, she couldn't be over 5 foot nothing.

Her eyes seemed to resemble the sea as it clashed against the shore in the midst of a thunderstorm: cloudy, dark, and untamed. Under usual circumstances, Bronwyn was seemingly a very outgoing, energetic, bubbly person. However, I knew that that was never true to begin with. She was actually quite serious, determined, supportive... but right now, she was none of those things. The one clear emotion hidden behind her blue-gray eyes was panic.

I studied her carefully for a moment or two after noticing this. She kept up her little facade, slugging me in the arm before wrapping her arm around my shoulder (which was quite comical with the height difference), and cheerfully dragging me off back towards the path to the common and tents with a cheerful "Time to go, brother dearest."

I said nothing; she picked up how out of character that was for me, as silence usually made me uneasy. She stopped dead in her tracks, bringing me to a stop with her in the dark shadows of what was perhaps the tallest tree in the forest, the one right behind the headquarters of the Alliance.

I frowned. "What's wrong?" But, of course, I knew that the panic and the fear and that odd, almost knowing look in her emotionally charged eyes must have a strong, substantial cause, for Bronwyn rarely let what she was truly feeling passed the wall she kept around herself.

She gripped my forearms tightly, looking around nervously before making eye contact with me. She was very jittery, bouncing on the balls of her feet; her hands on my arms shook slightly. "It happened again."

My eyes rolled seemingly of their own accord. And I'd thought this was something important. Just more of my little sister and her crazy superstitions. "Not now, B." I tried pushing passed her, only to have her grip tighten to the point where it was almost painful.

"I'm serious," she snapped, her wall breaking apart brick by brick. "You're not only my closest sibling, but my best friend. I thought you of all people would believe me when I needed you to. I'm serious about it this time, okay?" The set of her lips and eyebrows pleaded with me to accept what she was saying as truth, but the sudden tightening around her emotionally worn eyes warned me of what would happen if I didn't listen to her, if I passed this up as another one of her little plays.

I wanted to believe her, honestly I did; most of the time we actually had a pretty good 'big bro, little sis' relationship. But she was asking a lot, she was asking me to believe in something that I knew was faulty, that I knew was unpredictable, that I knew was unstable and crazy and couldn't be explained. She was asking me to believe the impossible, that she possessed a gift only immortal or divine beings were supposed to have. She'd brought this up to me before, but this time... I don't know. It seemed different.

Because I'm pretty laid back, and an awesome brother, if I might add, I sighed, nodded, and waved my hand at her to continue.

She let out a deep breath of relief. "Thanks."

I nodded, expecting her to elaborate.

There was a tense pause as she seemed to ponder how to begin, but beating around the bush wasn't really her thing.

Though they were only two words, they were so rushed that I hardly caught them at all. "They're back."

* * *

I watched Bronwyn's back as she disappeared into the woods. The forest was black and the trees were winding and shadowing, so it didn't take very long for her to vanish from my sight, gone into the darkness where she'd meet everything else that has wandered astray; I didn't particularly enjoy the thought, but what choice did I have but to let her disappear back into the woods? Even if they were no longer the trees that we'd always known, even if the entire forest had disappeared as well?

If she was being legitimate, and I had very little doubt that she wasn't, then what we were facing was even more rotten than I, and probably most of everyone else, could imagine. But what made it worse was even if she did go to the Founders or Chiron or even if she told the entire freaking whole of Long Island, most either wouldn't want to believe her, would ignore her, or would chose to pretend that another apocalypse wasn't happening because they simply didn't want to or didn't feel like dealing with it at the moment.

Was this the next apocalypse? Was this what the Founders had been so paranoid about when they established the Alliance? Well, they were doing a shit job of preventing it if it was, not that they probably weren't going to the furthest lengths possible and giving their best effort.

But it was fairly surprising that Bronwyn even told me, one of the people she truly and wholeheartedly trusted; she wouldn't tell anyone else. Besides, it was stupid to trust someone so completely, even though, of course, I'd never want anything to happen to her and I'd do mostly anything she asked of me. But anyway, could I tell someone? No. Out of the question. Definitely out.

I started walking towards the headquarters anyway, my feet taking me there of their own accord, because, trust me, I did _not _want them to take me there right now. Yet as it turned out, something caught my eye and made me pause just behind the large, main tent of this operation. Movement. A person crouching down around the back of the tent, the side of their head pressed against it, as if listening for something.

It was a guy, that much was prominent despite the obvious shortness of the figure. He was built like a track and field type, the kind of kid you wouldn't see until he was already halfway around the track, or right behind you. Clothed in a black jacket with the hood up, I couldn't get a clear look at his face from this angle, though his facial structure appeared sharp by the shadow his face cast in the dim light glowing from inside the tent.

Who'd be sneaking around like this in the middle of the night, most likely spying on the Founders or some important report or meeting? Well, several people would do that. But in the middle of the night in the shadows without making the slightest sound? Reasonably, I could only name one, and he fit the description of this guy, unsurprisingly: Vladimir Covet.

Vlad was a shady character, cocky and arrogant and big-headed. But he was smart, and he was stealthy, and he was quick; he was one of the Alliance's best spies. Vlad kept to himself mostly, but I'd noticed he kept a close eye on the children of Titans, and, for some reason, Sabire Andrews; I guess laying around watching all the drama unfold certainly opened up your eyes to things most people wouldn't pick up on or notice. Whatever; came in handy sometimes.

But that reminded me of something: the tallest tree in the forest, located conveniently just behind the headquarters of the Alliance, was where Hayden liked to hang around at night, observing the drama like the Night Watchman, as I observed the drama of the daylight hours. I glanced up to the higher branches of the tree behind me, but I couldn't see him if he was still there. I'd talk to Hayden later then; he obviously would know something, or maybe a lot of some things about what was going on, maybe more than any other one single solitary person in the Alliance. Or maybe that was just me hoping that someone might know what the hell was happening.

I turned back around to find Vlad gone. What...?

And then there was a hand over my mouth and someone pulling me down into the bushes. Struggling to free myself, I kicked and threw my arms around wildly, in too much of a panic to remember how to fight properly. But then there was a low, quiet voice snapping in my ear. "Shut up! Do you want them to find us?"

I stopped thrashing about, and Vlad released his hold on me. I faced him, still sitting on the ground while he tucked his legs under him and sat with his elbows on his knees. I tried catching my breath, but it was not so easy. "What the hell do you think you're _doing_?"

He quickly clamped a hand over my mouth, looking around a bit before removing it, and scowling fiercely at me. His black eyes glared holes threw my head. "I said keep it down," he hissed. "And I think the question is what are _you _doing? Sneaking up on me like that? As if I wouldn't notice too. You made me miss the end of that conversation trying to make sure you didn't expose my hiding place."

I rolled my eyes condescendingly in mock horror at him. But I _was _fairly interested with what he had heard, though, of course, like any good spy (as I guess you could call me that with all the people watching I do), I tried not to show that. "Who were you spying on? What'd you hear?"

His glare intensified. "Nico di Angelo's report. And I didn't hear much of it, thanks to you."

I shrugged. "Sorry 'bout that."

He crossed his arms irritatedly, before standing up and stalking off in the same direction Bronwyn had gone before him.

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet and trying to chase after him, one of the only people I knew knew something.

To no avail. All I heard was a distant "Shh!" before he disappeared completely from sight, as everyone and everything else was tending to do lately.

And I was beginning to think that this darkness would last far longer than we could ever possibly hope that it wouldn't, and that everything that went into the darkness would never return, never come to the light ever again. Forever lost. In the dark.

I hated being in the dark. I'd find out what the hell was going on. By the gods, I'd find out, so I could forget about it and go back to my laid-back, easy life. No matter what it took, I'd get my godsdamn normal life back again. Ha! Normal? I'm a demigod! We don't experience anything remotely considered normal!

I stared off into the forest a little longer, my eyebrows furrowed, my lips in a frown, before turning around and heading home to my cabin.


	9. Strip My Mind

**Legend**

**Chapter 9: Strip My Mind**

**Aurora Crow**

* * *

I kicked another rock into the water, watching it sail out of sight and splash into the cold depths. "I hate this lake," I muttered, to myself really, though I knew that Etrius could hear me from his position of hanging by his legs off one of the lower branches of the closest tree behind me.

And he knew that I wasn't looking for a response, but, of course, he chuckled at me. "You hate everything."

I picked up the next rock with my hand and lobbed it over my shoulder in his general direction. "I do not."

"Beg to differ."

Clearly, I had missed. Damn it. Hmm... gotta find another rock.

He paused as I went about my business searching for a new projectile. Wait for it... "Forgive the curiosity, but what exactly is it that you hate about it?" And there it is. Tada; I'm physic.

"It's dirty," I snap irritatedly, chucking a larger stone over my shoulder.

I could imagine him shaking his head. "All lakes are dirty."

"You sure are talkative today."

"Didn't know it was a sin, Your Majesty."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Do it for me?"

I spun around at that, glaring with all the intensity and hostility of a black hole. He was upside down, blood rushing to his face, hair falling towards the ground, smirk steady on his lips. How is it with all the pent up rage and anger inside of him he always managed a laid-back exterior? His smirk grew as my gaze lingered. God-fucking-damn it, I hate him.

"Are you bipolar?"

He shrugs, allowing this. "Might as well be."

See, we were in the middle of fucking nowhere, and when I say nowhere, I mean _nowhere, _as in NOWHERE. The banks of some polluted lake somewhere in one of the square states in the middle of the country. I don't know. We left camp, like... I don't know that either. Travelled yesterday, travelled the day before, Monday, Sunday, Saturday... Might've been four days ago. Might've been five. Anyway, remember that fucking creepy ass message dear old Papa sent me that one time like... fuck. How can the daughter of the Titan of time be so bad at remembering how long ago things were...? Must've been somewhere between two weeks and a month. Yeah, something like that.

So, basically, we were setting out to find some of the other Kronos kids. I hate most of them, and most of the little fuckers hate me too, but I needed at least two of them for this little quest I was sent on by my worst enemy. Hey, I didn't have a choice, okay? If I don't go through with this, then even more people will die. Besides, maybe this can buy me some time to think of a plan. I know, I know: I'm probably making the worst mistake of my life, but I'm kind of cornered here. Aurora Lasia Crow does _not _like being cornered. Yeah, anyway, right now we were looking for the only relative I genuinely liked: Jonathan Calico.

I sighed heavily and collapsed against the trunk of the same tree he was still hanging from. "Why do I stay with you?"

"Is this rhetorical?"

"Sure."

"Because I'm the awesomest person ever."

"I think you need to reevaluate your definition of the word 'rhetorical.'"

This banter had been going on for several hours. This was supposed to be a "rest" stop, but the only "rest" involved was Etrius finishing off the "rest" of the TastyKakes that we'd lifted from some lazy biker a while back.

He flipped himself up to sit on the branch like a_ normal_ person (if "normal" people sat in trees that is), the blood draining from his face back to his normal complexion. He climbed up a bit higher to sit himself down in a fork made by the branches, leaning against the trunk of the tree a couple of yards above my head, where I sat in a similar position. Even from up there I could hear him sigh. Looking up at him, he seemed sobered, oddly enough. His mood swings were often infuriating and random. "What the hell are we doing?"

I snorted. "I'm not too sure on that."

"You're the conductor here."

"True enough."

Silence for a bit more as I pondered my answer.

My voice seemed to cut through the silence. "We're waiting." Yes, that seemed accurate enough. We were waiting. Waiting for my brother to finally show up as he said he would; he was the one who arranged this meeting point anyway: the west side of the lake, right by the thick tree half fallen into the water.

He shakes his head. "Not regarding your brother. What are we doing." Not really a question this time.

"Still waiting." For the storm to hit, that is. And it would hit. Trust me, it was just a matter of time now.

* * *

The sun was just about gone with the return of the night and still no Jonathan. Etrius had been asleep for a couple hours, or pretending to be at least (for that I was relieved, but it also provided much more boredom then there was with him awake, so that also kinda sucked), however, I expected him to wake up shortly, as he rarely slept past a few hours at a time. There hasn't been too much activity around the lake or forest surrounding it. The highway could be heard in the distance, which was probably the only way anyone could stumble across this small little body of water, like if their car broke down or something and they went exploring a little ways away from the road. Honestly, I really wouldn't have minded if that happened at this point; it'd give me some unfortunate soul to annoy and I could only entertain myself for so long.

Jon was running extremely late. He'd have made a quick I.M. if he had known that he'd miss our rendezvous by several _hours, _I was sure that he would have. But that obviously wasn't the case as he hadn't. Which meant something was holding him up, or _someone_. My thoughts strayed to a certain Titan lord. I swear to whoever that if he fucking touched Johnny I wouldn't just murder him slowly, violently, and painfully, I'd make it humiliating and public and put his mangled body on display up on Olympus in further defiance of him. Ahem, err... excuse my slight sadism.

Of course, I'd been plotting to kill Kronos since the dawn of my existence, but I loved my brother, surprisingly. He was pretty much one of the only people I gave a damn about. At least, he didn't annoy the shit out of me, he was a fairly decent dude, and I felt like we were kinda two different aspects of the same person, as strange as that sounds, it was kinda like our lives were tied or something, so.

If it wasn't our daddy that was holding him up, then what? Jon was a decent fighter, though he'd never really had any proper training, so not just any monster could cause him too much delay. But there wasn't too much I could do if he was in the middle of fighting off some terrible beasty (not Beastie - I love those boys). I couldn't even shot him an Iris because that could fatally distract him if he was facing an attack.

But back to my selfishness, whatever was holding him up was seriously starting to tick me off. I don't like waiting for anything as I'm not too much of a patient person, I'm sure you've noticed.

The water glistened in the pale light of the moon. Must have been past eleven judging from how long I'd been standing here with my feet in the rocky sand of the shoreline and the position of the moon, maybe approaching midnight. Knowing Johnny, he'd make a theatrical appearance when the moon was highest at twelve on the dot. But if he wanted to meet at midnight, he'd have said so. My eyes narrowed slightly as I watched the shallow waves coming in, rocking back and forth and against each other, pushing around the sand and the rocks and lapping at my feet. It looked too peaceful, therefore, something hideous and evil and fire breathing and most likely slimy would crash through the surface at any second and try to kill me. At least, that was my logic. Nothing was ever truly good. But then again, if I believed that, it'd be stupid of me to deny that anything is ever completely evil, even my father. Something had to turn him the way he was. _Something_... If I could eliminate that variable... If I could chase down my own demons... Would that make everything alright? Would that change who I am? Would that make everything different? Or would it just make me a stranger to my own world? My own life?

My life. What a pathetic excuse for an existence. Not that I was complaining. Complaining doesn't help anyone or solve anything, so, really, there was no point to it. None whatsoever...

Those waves might have been inviting if my suspicion didn't hold me back. It seems like I'm the one who always holds me back, even when at the same time I'm the only one who allows me to move forward. Maybe _I _was the problem. Maybe I was my own worst enemy. Maybe that's the truth of it all. I'd always thought my worst enemy was Kronos, my evil Titan lord of time bastard of a father. I'd always drilled it into my head that I could vanquish anything by sheer force and willpower, by destroying it. But I couldn't destroy myself. I could never bring myself to do that, no matter how depressing and overwhelming everything seemed sometimes.

I wish I could just stop thinking; I was giving myself a headache. I wish I could just... wipe my mind clean. Forget all the fucking pain and distress and fear and hatred and angst and self-loathing and... everything. But, if I had the chance to do so, would I be willing to sacrifice all the good things? Ha! That's such a stupid thing to ask. Even though the good things were few and in between... I wouldn't give them up for the world. I wouldn't give up on myself. So maybe the real answer here is to make peace with myself, with my worst enemy - _me _- because we are each our own problem, before I can do anything else.

So I close my eyes, breathe in deeply, and let the world slip away.


	10. Backwoods

**Legend **

**Chapter 10: Backwoods**

**Etrius Falke**

* * *

Aurora doesn't listen to me; she never has and I didn't ever expect her to, so I wasn't surprised when she didn't shut up after I'd asked her about fifty thousand times, not that I really meant it but it was annoying all the same. I guess I had it coming what with baiting her like that earlier, but it was three a.m. and I didn't fucking feel like dealing with the consequences now. Not that _she_ seemed to mind being up at this hour; we both had odd sleeping habits. So there wasn't much hope that she'd quit while ahead, especially considering how godsdamn stubborn she was.

I seldom just sat and took what was being dished out to me, but this was Aurora, temperamental, extremely powerful, egotistical, proud Aurora who I didn't dare piss of more than was safe for my health. Besides, I knew she was anxious about her brother, which was just about the only thing I completely understood about her: her attachment to him. He kept her sane like my sister had kept me sane, you know, before she died. If Jonathan was now dead, then she'd be just one more step closer to being as irreparably fucked up as I am. But anyway, Aurora Crow would have her revenge and then the world would continue spinning, so I really didn't bother to put much effort into stopping her when she needed to blow off steam.

Aurora doesn't ever talk about her feelings; she likes to pretend she doesn't have any. But Jonathan Calico was one of the only people who ever really cared about her and I of all people knew what it felt like to be alone in the world, and just how important he was to her. Even I, however, couldn't fathom their connection. If he was hurt, she was hurt. If the unthinkable had happened and he had left this world, I knew her sanity wasn't far behind. I could just tell, despite her effort to hide it. She had a wall around her that she liked to let everyone (including herself) think was indestructible. But the bricks and stones were old and the moat was running dry.

I might know her better than I knew myself. Hell, I _did _know her better than I knew myself, because I had no idea who I was or what I was doing. I wasn't much for eureka moments or philosophical ponderings and revelations, not to the depth that Aurora was. I just scraped by in life; she kinda destroyed everything in her way and walked leisurely through life like she hadn't a care in the world. She cared about people and ideas and beliefs and honor and the good of the world; I just cared about the few things in my own bubble. Aurora was stronger than I could ever hope to be; the thought of her hurting over this didn't surprise me at all, but I was still feeling it's effects rolling off her. Even she couldn't pretend that she wasn't shaken, even she wasn't strong enough to completely hide all her feelings from the world all the time, not from me. So yeah, I let her verbally abuse me if it meant helping her cope with this better. Maybe I'm a bit masochistic. Maybe I'm just stupid. Or maybe she could literally try to fucking kill me and I'd still just deal with it because it's her. Further proof I'm insane.

Even though I was still up in the tree and should have had a good view, I couldn't see anything because of how dark it was; it was a cloudy night. I couldn't see a foot in front of my face let alone Aurora down on the ground. That kinda pissed me off; I hated not seeing my surroundings. However, I _had_ been sitting up here for hours on end so it wasn't like I didn't _know_ my surroundings by now. Whatever. But it still bothered me that one of my senses was severely lacking, especially since I knew that if I couldn't see at all, Aurora wouldn't be able to see too much better, which left us both pretty open to attack. Not that I thought there was much out here by the lake, logically anyway.

My hearing was basically all I was using right now, listening to her rant and complain to and about me. But it was kinda comforting to hear her voice, to know she was still there and not getting attacked by some monster on the ground. She likes to tell me I'm paranoid, I like to say I'm cautious. But nevermind her, I wasn't even hearing her words, just her voice; I was too out of it.

But her voice faded after an hour: she'd fallen back asleep. We'd been resting since this afternoon and she was still exhausted, but, of course, she deserved the sleep she was usually deprived of even if it made me somewhat more nervous of something happening even though in my mind I knew the odds of that were very small. Still, I couldn't really calm myself down, couldn't shake the feeling that something was... well, _wrong, _even if I couldn't tell what. In another time I could roll my eyes at myself, but now I really just was doing my best to not jump down and check to make sure she was still down there.

About twenty minutes later I had managed to cool down a bit and was finally just convincing myself to relax and try to catch some sleep when I heard a noise off to my left coming from the direction of the highway a little ways off. In the forest.

I didn't even think before jumping out of my branch and dropping down silently next to Aurora, quickly shaking her arm and throwing our two bags over my shoulders. She just mumbled and rolled over, swatting at my hand. So I shook her harder, putting my hand over her mouth when she made a move to start complaining loudly. That got her to shoot up of course, eyes wide and darting around ready to fight. I kept a hand on her arm since she wouldn't really be able to see me shaking my head in the darkness; I knew she'd be able to tell it was just me. And, as counted on, she relaxed slightly and pulled my other hand off from covering her mouth.

"What's wrong?" she all but mouthed. I was standing literally right next to her and I could barely make out what she was saying.

"Just wait," I whispered back, listening intently to the sounds of the woods, waiting for the noise of twigs crunching under boots again.

She instinctively took off her leather jacket, the golden wings that I usually forgot she had slowly unfurling, and then grabbed for her twin swords that lay on the ground beside where she'd just been asleep, waiting to see if we needed to take off or fight. It didn't sound like something big but the biggest weren't always the most dangerous. If it was too powerful or a person or monster we weren't sure we could beat, she'd grab my arm and fly us the hell out of here. If it was something lesser, which was admittedly more likely, we'd just kick it's ass. The problem was, it was way too dark out to see much of anything, so I was going off ears alone here.

Then I heard it again. Louder. And again and again. More frequent like whatever it was didn't care so much about being found. The snapping of twigs underfoot. The crashing of something falling over. Something stumbling it's way through the trees towards us. I had better hearing than Aurora did, but it would be impossible for her not to hear the racket that thing was making. We were just waiting for it to reach us now.

It continued getting louder and louder as the seconds passed, too quick yet too slow. Anticipation was always the worst part of anything.

Impulsively, I took a couple steps forward, slightly in front of Aurora. She didn't notice as she was too busy scanning the tree line; though I had superior hearing, her vision was a lot better than mine. I could tell she was bouncing a bit in that annoying way she has when she's expecting a fight. Her feet don't actually leave the ground so it's not like she's jumping up and down but it's not like she's shaking rooted to the spot either; it's almost like warm ups before a sport, I'd imagine.

My patience was wearing thin. We'd been at this impasse for quite a few minutes now, just waiting, unable to do anything else. My eyes narrowed slightly as the noises just continued to increase in volume until they sounded like they were surrounding us. I could also hear groaning as well now. But it was odd, it almost sounded... familiar? Not terribly familiar mind you, but all the same there was something recognizable about it...

And then Aurora was dropping her weapons and sprinting towards the tree line, the noise. Naturally, I raced after her, following her shadow until she stopped abruptly and dropped to the ground beside something, no, some_one_. Covered in blood. Gasping. But there was no mistaking the way Aurora's hands shook and the set of her mouth.

It could only have been Jonathan.


	11. Black-Eyed Blonde

**Legend**

**Chapter 11: Black-Eyed Blonde  
**

* * *

The woods were unusually quiet that day, or night that is: the sun wasn't up yet. None of the Founders particularly liked these dawn meetings, but no one else in the Alliance was awake at this time and it was too early for the cabin leaders to have to lead their cabins to breakfast. It was August 8th, to be exact. Ten days to Percy's birthday, Annabeth dully noted. It was funny, because Percy Jackson happened to be her main topic of thought and worry at 5:30 a.m. of this day.

Katie Gardener, the voice of reason among these five unlikely colleagues, was pursing her lips, sitting up straight in her chair at the small round table. She tapped her fingers absently against the wood, her gaze fixed, coincidentally, on the same point Will Solace (perching on his own chair, perfectly still next to her) was staring at: the only source of light in the room, which was the dim candle sitting in the center of the table, in the middle of their small group. On Will's left lounged Clarisse la Rue, her feet propped up and her hands behind her head, occasionally huffing in boredom or annoyance. Clarisse's other side was occupied by Jake Mason, whose arms were crossed on the table, his chin resting atop them. The last chair was empty.

Annabeth Chase was not the type of person one wanted to be on the bad side of. Architect of Olympus, Cabin leader of Athena's children and most likely the smartest, and more or less the successor of Daedalus himself seeing as she had all of his prototypes, plans, and schematics in the laptop he had given her. She was also a lethal opponent on the battlefield, not to mention she was the voice behind the leader Percy Jackson in the Battle of Manhattan and how many fights she actually partook in. She had a temper. She could hold a grudge. She was impulsive. She was the one who originally had the idea for the Alliance, though no one quite knew why. No, she was not the type of person to make an enemy of. And it was perhaps because of all this that not one person requested that she sit down; they'd leave her to stand away from group if she preferred, even if it seemed to give her the real power in the room, if she hadn't already commanded it in the first place.

Officially, these early meetings never took place, and indeed they were a rare thing because only the most grave of matters had to be discussed when they absolutely had to make sure that there was no chance of anyone overhearing. Of course, this qualified.

They had been sitting in silence for no more than five minutes maybe, but it seemed like an eternity to the other four Founders. For Annabeth it was merely a contemplative pause. She could occasionally be seen muttering to herself, mumbling inaudible nonsense. This was fairly normal for children of Athena, but usually it was consistent and at least it made somewhat sense. This sounded like the mad ramblings of a mental hospital patient.

Eventually (another two minutes to be exact), Clarisse couldn't take it anymore. "What the hell are we doing here, Blondie?"

Annabeth appeared not to have heard her.

Will rolled his eyes. "The prophecy, of course," he said in his low, quick voice. He finally relaxed his tense position of crouching with his feet on his chair and his legs bent, choosing to hop down with little more than a rustle of fabric to sit like a normal person would.

Katie sighed and dully nodded her head, rubbing her temples lightly.

"You and your damn prophecy," the daughter of Ares muttered angrily. "What's changed? We've gone over it and over it and it still makes as much sense as it did when we first heard it."

Will's eyes flashed to her face before flitting over to Annabeth's. "Or does it?" he questioned, pointedly directing this at the one Founder who was still paying the others no attention whatsoever.

Katie's and Jake's also went to Annabeth, while Clarisse just rolled her's.

"Bullshit," Clarisse snapped.

Jake shook his head slightly, his overlong bangs swishing around his face, but didn't say anything.

"Annabeth?" Katie called tentatively.

"'Twin beams of light shall lead the way

Ten and twenty hours through the day

Relentless evil dangerously entrenched

The last of the last, an old hero avenged

A disturbance in nature, the world ill

And one to fall for the final kill'"

It was the first coherent response they had received from the daughter of Athena yet. However, no one really desired to be reminded of that odd little doomsday prophecy. Annabeth had always been very evasive of those lines, ever since they were given she had hated discussing them or even bringing them up. For her to recite it now was not only completely out of character, but it made the majority of the other Founders suspicious that she did know something about this that they didn't.

Annabeth sighed quietly and finally turned away from staring at the blank wall and made her way over to the others, placing her hands on the back of her chair and leaning forward slightly.

"No need to get dramatic, Miss Princess," grumbled Clarisse.

Will, Jake, and Katie snorted. "Coming from you?" The first asked.

Before Clarisse could growl out a retaliation, Annabeth intercepted the question. "No, no, she's right. This whole thing is too over dramatic. Finish fighting one war, receive yet another prophecy. Typical."

"So why choose now to talk about it?"

She looked down at her empty seat and didn't look up at all for the next several minutes. "Sometimes you just don't feel like hiding everything from everyone anymore. It gets old." They waited for her to continue. She bit her lip and slowly made her way around to occupy the final seat, resting her head in her left head and drawing circles absently on the wood with the other. "You know that I founded the Alliance because of this prophecy... However, it was not out of pure paranoia; I _knew_ it would come true. I could just _feel_ it..."

"Is there any way to avoid it?" asked Katie nervously.

Annabeth shook her head. "There might have been at one point, if I'd realized what this meant sooner..."

The Founders exchanged looks.

"...I haven't the slightest clue what most of those lines mean. Honestly. Relentless evil dangerously entrenched. That one... I think I know..." Her head suddenly snapped up, a fierce light in her eyes and a steel edge to her voice. "Luke died two years ago to destroy Kronos and save Olympus. He made some wrong choices but he was a hero in the end. But Kronos, as we all know, is immortal. He was able to possess Luke's body, use him as his host... I think he deserted the body just before Luke killed himself. Either that or his spirit was still strong enough afterwards to continue on. I think that a part of Kronos took root in another a host, that he's still out there. I can't tell you how but I just... I'm positive. I'm trying to figure out a way to... I... Forget it. It just fits alright? And there's been the signs..."

Her little rant was received with silence. And more silence. And more silence as the other four sat dumbstruck, trying to assess the meaning of what she'd just said.

And then: "You're fucking insane, you know that?" Clarisse snapped, hand itching towards her spear that rested against the side of the table next to her. "You expect us to buy that? He's gone! We defeated him! Are you saying all those campers died for nothing?"

"Excuse me, Clarisse, but you only came _after_ most of those campers died."

"Shut the fuck up, Solace!" She stood up, forcefully pushing up from the table, knocking her chair backwards to the floor in the process. "He's gone! He's gone, he's gone, he's gone! Silena died a hero for Olympus! Are you telling me that was in vain?! It fucking wasn't! She was braver than any of you! Kronos is dead! He's gone! He's gone, he's gone, he's... Ugh! He's gone, okay? Just... he can't..." She trailed off, pursing her lips angrily, her fists clenched and shaking at her sides.

"Clarisse - "

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

After a bit of hesitation, Katie opened her mouth to speak, but it was only after a quick glance at Clarisse that she continued. "Let's just go over the facts here, okay? Everybody calm down. Breathe."

Clarisse shaking in an upset rage. Annabeth staring bleakly off into space, a sad, distant look on her face. Will still narrowing his eyes at Clarisse, but his eyes portraying everything he was really feeling. Katie the peacemaker, holding up her hands in what was supposed to be a calming gesture. The usually quiet Jake Mason, head councilor of the Hephaestus cabin, was the only one who looked unfazed. He was the one who broke the tense silence.

"There's nothing more to be discussed. If Annabeth says she's positive he was never actually destroyed..." He glanced up at her to find everyone now looking at him. "Then we'd better bump up the hours the scouts are working. We're gonna need everything and everyone we can get." He meet each of their eyes, varying in emotions and colors and shape as they were, then promptly stood up, softly pushed his chair back in, and left.

A few moments later, Annabeth ordered in a quiet voice, "Adjured."


End file.
